Feeding mechanism for sewing-machines.



L. ONDERDONK. FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

JAPPUCATION rum MAR. 15. 191

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Patented Jan. 30, 1917.

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L. ONDERDO NK. FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I5. 1911.

Patented Jan. 30, 1917.

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amwmlfoz L. ONDERDONK.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION mm MAR. I5. 191!- Patented Jan. 30, 1917.

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L. ONDERDONK.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 15, m1.

1,214,063. I Patented Jan. 30, 1917.

4 $HEET$-SHEET 4- LANSING ONDERDONK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO UNION SPECIAL MACHINE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING-MACHIN ES.

Application filed March 15, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LANSING ONDERDONK a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Mechanisms for Sew'ing-h Iachines, of which the following is a. description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in sewing machines, and more especially to the feeding mechanism of such machines.

Differential feeding devices on sewing machines for use in the manufacture of knitgoods are well known, the object of such being, generally speaking, to provide for the fulling in or gathering of the goods ahead of the needle. Such feeds have also been put into use in sewing a binding strip of nonelastic material to a knitted fabric, the knitted fabric being fed slightly faster than the binding strip, thus overcoming the tendency of the knitted fabric to stretch, so that the two pieces of fabric will be evenly and smoothly stitched together.

The various developments of the differential or two-motion feed devices have resulted in different ramifications; for example, into the division of the main feed dog into different sets of teeth, one set acting on the knitted fabric alongside of and extending in a path in rear of the needle plane; another set acting on the two fabrics in rear of the stitching point; and a third arranged to the rear and to one side of the needle acting on the binding strip alone. It has also been proposed to use a top feed dog to cooperate with the last mentioned feed dog. In these arrangements an auxiliary feed dog is arranged in front of the needle moving at a varying speed, or with a different throw from the main feed dog, to full'in or crowd, or feed the fabric faster up to the needle than it is drawn away.

It has also been proposed in this class of devices to provide means whereby the auxiliary feed dog may be adjusted or manipulated by the operator to cause the fulling action to cease either by throwing it entirely out of effective engagement with the fabric,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 30, 1917.

Serial No. 614,730.

or by throwing it into unison with the main feed dog. Such cessation of the fulling action of the feeding mechanism is useful, for example, in sewing a binding on the neck opening of knitted underwear when crossing the stay strips or front 1 facings of the garment. My invention, however, does not relate to a two-motion or differential feed, but to a feedingdevice in which a single lower feed dog or device is used, inclined downward from the front to the rear, so that in the upward movement of the dog, the part ahead of the needle engages the goods first and crowds them toward the needle before the rear part of the feed dog takes hold. Such a device is known as a tilting feed dog, the feed dog being so arranged that the teeth thereof may lie perfectly level, but being pivotally supported on its bar, that it may be tilted on its axis so that the teeth may lie in an inclined plane instead of a horizontal plane.

My particular invention herein set forth consists in the provision of a tilting feed dog which may be shifted from inclined to level position or vice versa, without stopping or retarding the action of the sewing machine, so that the feed may operate as the ordinary inclined or tilted feed to pucker the goods ahead of the stitching point, or

may be shifted to level position to operate.

as an ordinary feed.

The invention further consists in the various matters hereinafter described and referred to in the appended claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a plan view of a sewing machine embodying my invention, with the head thereof removed, but showing the presser foot and needle; Fig. 2 is a front view of a portion of a sewing machine embodying the invention; Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail view of the tilting feed and its operating parts; Fig. 5 is a plan view with the cloth plate removed; and Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. at, showing the operating connections when the normal position of the feed dog is level, instead of inclined, as in said Fig. 4..

In these drawings I have shown a portion of asewing machine of the well known Union Special type, the bed plate being shown at 1, the cloth plate at 2, the throat plate at 3, the needle at 4, the presser bar at 5, the main shaft at 6, and the feed-operating eccentric at 7. These parts being of well known construction, need not be more particularly described. The under feeding mechanism consists of the feed bar 8, to which is attached the post 9, upon which is fulcrumed by means of the pivot-screw 10, the feed dog 11. The feed bar 8 is pivoted at 8 to a feed rocker 8 pivoted in turn at 8 to the bed plate 1 of the machine. an arm 8 which is oscillated in the usual manner, and the oscillations of this arm impart a rocking movement to the feed rocker which moves the feed bar back and forth. This feed dog 11 has three sets of serrations a, b and 0, the serrations a extending alongside of the needle and lying both in front and in rear of the plane thereof, and engaging the main body of the fabric. The serrations Z) are in rear of the needle and the serrations 0 are in rear of and to one side of the needle and act upon the binding material alone, a top feed dog 12 cooperating therewith. This top feed is constructed and. operates in the manner set forth in Letters Patent No. 591,517, issued to R. G. Woodward, October 12, 1897, and need not be herein more particularly referred to.

The presser foot 13 has the main portion (Z cooperating with the serrations a, the portion 6, cooperating with serrations b, and the transverse portion 7 arranged in front of the serrations c, and the cooperating top feed dog. I

The binding is guided and folded around the edge of the body or knit goods by the folding guides 14 and 15.

The shank of the feed dog 11 has also a rearward extension, to which is secured by the screw 16, the forked block 17 having the arms 18 and 19. This forked block 17 also embraces the fulcrum pin 10. It will be seen that as the forked block is swung in one direction or the other, the feed dog 11 will swing on its pivot. A pin and block 20 and 21 attached to the end of a lever 22 slide up and down between the arms 18 and 19, normally being held by the spring 23 hearing on the lever 22, in the position shown in Fig. 3, thus giving an inclination to the forward end of the feed dog 11, to enable it to full in the goods ahead of the needle. This lever 22 is pivoted at 24 tothe feed bar 8, and has a downwardly projectarm 25, to which is attached one end of a chain 26, controlled by the usual spring treadle 27. An adjusting stop screw 28 limits the downward movement of the forward end of the lever 22.

As shown particularly in Figs. 3 and #1, pressure on the treadle will draw down the rear end of the lever .22, thus raise the block This feed rocker is formed with and pin 20 and 21 in the slot of the forked piece 17, andswing the same, and through it the feed dog 11, the screw 28 being so adjusted that the limit of the upward movement of the forward end of the lever 22 corresponds with the position of the feed dog 11. Assuming, therefore, that the machine is being used for sewing collarets or binding strips on knitted fabric, the forward end of the inclined feed dog ahead of the needle rises above the throat plate ahead of the rear part, and crowds in the knitted fabric to the needle, the part of the serrations (4 in rear of the'needle feed away the knitted fabric, the serrations b in rear of the stitching point bearing on the line of stitches feed away both the body and the collaret, and the serrations 0 with top feed 12, clamp and feed the binding strip and prevent its slipping. If a stay strip or front facing is to be crossed, and it is not desired then to full in the material, pressure on the treadle throws the feed dog serrations a to level position and no fulling takes place. hen the stay strip or facing has been crossed and pressure is removed from the treadle, the spring 23 automatically returns the lever, the pin and block to normal position, thus swinging the feed dog so it assumes an inclined position.

In Fig. 6, a modification is shown, in which the normal position of the feed dog 11 is level, and in this case to tilt it to do the fulling, a bell crank lever having the two arms 29 and 30 is pivoted at 31 to the bed of the machine at 32, the arm 30 being attached to the chain 26 and arm 29 to link 25. Downward pull on arm 30 will lower forward end of lever 22, and pin and block 20 and 21, and thus tilt the feed dog so that the end ahead of the needle will perform a fulling action on the goods. In this form, the spring 23 acts against the under side of lever 22 or just the reverse of Fig. 3.

lVhile it has been heretofore proposed to provide a tilting feed dog, in which the part ahead of the needle first engages the fabric and fulls or crowds in the goods, I believe I am the first to so arrange such a feed that the fullmg or gathermg part engages only the body of the goods outside the line of the needle, another feeding surface or surfaces in rear of the needle cooperating therewith. I, therefore, wish to claim the same.

Havingthus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1; A. feeding mechanism for sewing machines including a feed rocker, a bed plate to which the feed rocker is pivoted, a feed bar pivoted to the upper end of said feed rocker, means engaging the feed bar at the forward end thereof for raising and lowering the same, a feed dog pivotally supported on said feed bar, whereby said feed dog may be shifted from a position inclined to its path of travel to a position parallel thereto, and means'for shifting the position of said feed dog, said means including a treadle,

and connections between the treadle and the feed dog capable of operation without stopping the movements of the feed bar for shifting said dog.

2. A sewing machine including in combination a feed bar, means for reciprocating said feed bar, means for raising and lowering the feed bar, a feed dog pivotally supported by said feed bar, a slotted member fixed to said feed dog, a lever movable with said feed bar, means carried by the lever for engaging said slotted member for shifting the position of said feed dog, and means under the control of the operator for shifting said lever.

3. A sewing machine including in combination a feed bar, means for reciprocating said feed bar, means for raising and lowering the feed bar, a feed dog pivotally supported by said feed bar, a slotted member fixed to said feed dog, a lever movable with said feed bar, means carried by the lever for engaging said slotted member for shifting the position of said feed dog, means under the. control of the operator for shifting said lever, a spring for moving said lever in one direction, and an adjustable stop for limiting the movement of the lever.

A. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines including in combination a feed rocker, a feed bar pivoted to said feed rocker, an eccentric for raising and lowering said feed bar, a feed dog pivoted to said feed bar. a lever pivotally supported by said feed bar, means for connecting said lever to said feed dog whereby a shifting of the lever will swing the feed dog, a spring for moving the lever in one direction, an adjustable stop for limiting the movement of the lever. a second lever pivoted on the bed plate of'the machine, and having a link connection with the first named lever, said second named lever being under the control of the operator whereby said feed dog may be shifted without stopping the feeding mechanism.

A feeding mechanism for sewing machines including a pivoted feed dog, a spring for normally holding it withits upper or feeding surface inclined downwardly from front to rear, and means under the control of the operator for shifting it so that its upper or feeding surface may be level. said means being capable of operation without stopping the action of the machine.

6. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines including in combination, a feed bar, a feed dog supported by said feed bar and having a feeding surface extending from a point in advance of the needle and wholly on one side thereof to a point in rear of the needle, and also a feeding surface located in rear of the needle, said feed dog being pivotally carried by said feed bar whereby it may be inclined downwardly from front to rear relative to the path of travel of said feed dog.

7. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines including a device having a feeding surface extending from front to rear and, in advance of the needle arranged only on one side thereof, means for supporting said device, whereby it may be positioned so that the front portion of the feeding surface may engage the goods lying ahead of the needle and full or gather the same, a feeding surface in rear of the stitching point, and a second feeding surface in rear of and on the opposite side of the needle from the first mentioned feeding surface, and a top feed cooperating with said second feeding surface.

8. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines including a feed bar, a feed dog pivotally supported thereon and having a slotted frame secured thereto, a pivoted lever having a block engaging the walls of said slot, and means for operating said lever to swing the feed dog.

9. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines including a feed bar, a feed dog pivotally supported thereon and having a slotted frame secured thereto, a pivoted lever having a block engaging the walls of said slot, means for operating said lever to swing the feed dog, means under the control of the operator for operating said lever to swing the feed dog in one direction, and a spring for returning it to normal position.

10. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines including a pivoted feed dog, means for holding it normally in one position, means under control of the operator for swinging it on its pivot, said means including a lever having a pivotal connection with a second lever, whereby the second lever does not partake of the movement imparted to the first lever.

11. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines including a pivoted feed dog and means for normally holding it in one position, means under control of the operator for swinging said feed dog on its pivot, including a lever having connection with said feed dog and moving longitudinally with it, a second lever pivoted to a stationary part of the machine in a horizontal plane below the first lever, and a swinging link connecting said levers.

12. A feeding mechanism for sewing machines including a feed dog and means to operate it, and means for controlling the effective action of said feed dog, said means including a plurality of levers, one being pivoted to a moving part of the machine and the other to a stationary part, both said 13. In a feeding mechanism for sewing machines including a pivoted feed dog and a feed bar for supporting the same, a lever pivoted on ahorizontal axis to said feed bar and connected to said feed dog, means interposed between said feed dog and said lever,

pivot in one direction the said feed dog is given a movement in the opposite direction.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses,

LANSING ONDERDONK.

Vitnesses:

Ron'r. J. MITCHELL,

RANDOLPH S. OSWALD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing th commissioner of Intent,

Washington, D. 0. I I

whereby when said lever is moved on its 10 

